


Isle Unto Thyself

by PrinceHandsome



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Accomplice Ending (Persona 4), Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-10 01:05:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18928171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceHandsome/pseuds/PrinceHandsome
Summary: "I had a girl until a little while ago. It kinda didn't work out. She looked great, but her attitude was...""I made one tiny mistake, and they all got on my case and sent me out here to Nowheresville as punishment…"Yu Narukami has experienced many sleepless nights after the day he agreed to help Tohru Adachi escape justice. One night, he decides to do something about it.





	1. Darkness

Tokyo was a city that never slept, but the night brought dangers any neon jungle did. It wasn’t smart to be walking home alone, at night, but it was a short distance. Just a few things from the local mini-mart, then back to her apartment. A hop, skip, and a jump.

“You know, it really isn’t safe to be out late like this, Miyu.”

The woman spun on her heel, turning pale. Out of the darkness, just barely outside the reach of a street light, came a man in a suit, minus the tie. His mussed hair and the bags under his eyes betrayed his own late night wakefulness. Miyu recognized him, and relaxed, instinctively, letting her shoulders un-tense and arms hang loosely at her sides.

“A-Adachi-san!” She exclaimed.

Tohru Adachi laughed good naturedly, a plastic bag containing something round in his hand. He held his hands up, as if to show he was unarmed.

“Did I scare you? Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Hey, wait a second...” He trailed off, spotting the bag hanging from the Miyu’s delicate digits. “I guess strange minds think alike. Still, you’re way too young to be going out alone like this.”

The soft, ghost of a smile played across the woman’s face. That charmer. He knew she wasn’t as young as she used to be, but he still acted like she was fresh out of school, every time they bumped into each other. She wouldn’t exactly call him a friend, but he was the type of person you’d always meet by chance at the grocery store, or when walking down the street. A friendly face in a crowd. The goofball you’re always comfortable around, even if you never see each other that often.

“Are you offering to walk me home, Adachi-san?” Miyu asked, playfully.

Adachi frowned, rubbing the back of his head. He looked like he honestly wasn’t sure of the whole situation.

“Jeeze, way to put me on the spot. I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I? You don’t live too far from here, right? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever been to your place,” He muttered, as if thinking aloud.

“Well, come on, I’ll show you. I can even make you dinner!” Miyu offered.

“Make me dinner, huh? Well, how could I say no to that?” Adachi responded, smirking.


	2. Awake

Another call from Adachi. They were becoming more frequent lately. It’s almost like the detective missed him. Groaning and trying to shake off the fog of sleep, Yu Narukami rolled over in bed and grabbed his vibrating phone off of his nightstand, answering the call and holding it to his ear.

“Three rings? That’s pretty slow. I hope I’m not calling at a bad time, partner.”

He hated it when Adachi called him partner. It was a word used by his best friend, and now it had been twisted into something dark. A reminder of his mistakes. The pressure and fear as he burned the threatening letters replayed in his mind over and over again every time he picked up one of Adachi’s calls.

“Come on, giving me the silent treatment? You really shouldn’t take me for granted. One of these days I’m going to stop calling, and then what will you do?”

Yu sighed, rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling of his dark, undecorated room. Boxes of his things from Inaba rested in a corner of the room, memories that he refused to face again.

“What do you want, Adachi-san?”

“Just checking up on my partner in crime. Say, are you paying attention to the news, lately? Hear about the latest murder? What was her name… Satonaka or something like that?”

Yu shot up in bed, eyes wide with fear. His heart was thumping so hard in his chest he felt like it would burst. Chie? Was Chie dead? Had his attention slipped so much that he’d miss something like that, even if he was in Tokyo? Would his friends not call him?

“Gotcha!” Adachi said, breaking out into hysterics at Yu’s panicked breathing.

Relaxing a bit, the feeling of dread did not leave Narukami. Adachi had said that for a reason. It was a reminder of the control he had. Even without the blackmail material, the destruction of evidence charge he had under his belt, Tohru Adachi was a murderer. Chie and the rest had no idea of his true personality. Nanako and Dojima were clueless that the man they shared dinner with so many times was the one who took the lives of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, in all probability. Yet, there was no proof. He had made sure of that much.

“Alright alright, I’m sorry for telling such a bad joke, jeeze. I’m just jealous, y’know? You get to go back to Tokyo, and I’m stuck here in this middle of nowhere town. All these people bore me. You were really the only one who ever entertained me, kid.”

Yu sighed again, deciding to speak. “Maybe I can come back one weekend. Call Dojima and ask if I can-”

Adachi cut him off, laughing.

“Oh come on Narukami, how stupid do you think I am? I can’t have you calling any of your friends, certainly not Dojima. What would I do if you suddenly spilled your guts to him?”

Yu bit his lip. He was pushing his luck, and yet, he felt compelled to push it further.

“How will you know if I call him? I might have already done it.”

The laughter stopped. Adachi was quiet, for awhile, and then sighed, as Yu had. He was no longer amused.

“Just try it. I swear, you young people feel compelled to do the dumbest shit. I tell you what, you do something I don’t like, I’ll do something you don’t like, got it? And I’ll know, trust me. You guys were as obvious as you could be, running around playing detective, what hope do you have if you bring everyone into it again?”

Yu swallowed. He knew Adachi would make good on that threat. If he brought everyone else into it, he wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret.

“So, do we have a deal? I’ll keep an eye on your friends, especially those bitches you surrounded yourself with. You don’t mind if I take some sloppy seconds, do you? Amagi’s probably a freak in the sack, am I right?”

Yu’s breath hitched as his heart began to race again, but this time it wasn’t exactly fear that made his blood pump. He felt anger flare up, for the first time since he left Inaba. He had been wallowing in his own regret and fear since returning to Tokyo, and now, every nerve ending in his body was alive with rage.

“Sorry, sorry, another bad joke. Or maybe not? Come on, tell me how they were, and I’ll tell you about how I killed those girls. Whoops! Have I said too much?” Adachi continued, breaking out into laughter again.

Yu placed his phone on his nightstand, turning the volume down and letting Adachi talk as much as he wanted. For now, the amateur sleuth needed to think. If he got everyone involved, there was no hope in keeping things a secret from Adachi. But… would it be possible to include a smaller portion of the team? Adachi had given him a clue without realizing. The evidence might be gone, but Yu knew who the culprit was. He could redeem himself for his past mistake.

Picking the phone back up, Adachi was still busy mocking an absent Yu and entertaining himself. He must have really been desperate for entertainment.

“I have class in the morning, Adachi-san. I need to sleep.”

Adachi stopped dead in his tracks, making a noise of thought.

“Huh, yeah, I guess it is getting pretty late, right? Oh well, more overtime for me, I guess. Call you tomorrow night, partner!”

With a click, the call was over. The thought of entertaining Adachi for two nights in a row sounded unbearable to Yu, but for now, he had to stay up. He had another call to make. Who could keep a secret?

Yosuke, Chie, and Kanji could all speak thoughtlessly. Yu trusted them, but not to keep a secret like this. When it was life or death, even a one percent chance of them letting something slip to the others was too great. Rise and Yukiko were likely facing incredible pressure due to their respective professions. There was only one real choice when it came to keeping a secret from the rest of the investigation team: Naoto Shirogane.

Hesitating for only a moment longer, Yu hovered over Naoto’s name in his contact list, and then hit the call button, anxiously awaiting her answer. When she finally came on, she sounded tired, but at the same time, happy.

“Senpai? It’s been quite some time.”

She was still calling him Senpai, even after they hadn’t seen each other for almost a year. Even hearing her voice caused tears to well up in his eyes. Hearing a friendly voice, someone who he loved and cared about, made Yu feel as if everything was going to be alright.

“Naoto, I need your help,” he said, quietly.

“Are you in danger? Should I call someone? Where are you?” Naoto immediately demanded. She was a better friend than Yu felt he deserved.

“I know who the killer is.”

There was a long period of silence as Naoto processed the information. She always made sure to think before she spoke, and she had to think on this matter for more than a few moments.

“Are they in Tokyo, with you?” She finally asked.

“No. At least, not anymore. I need you to keep this a secret, from the others. He’s keeping tabs on you,” Yu explained, barely above a whisper, as if Adachi would hear him.

“How?”

“Tohru Adachi.”

More silence. It felt good, to say it out loud, to finally out Adachi, but he was in a more dangerous position than ever. He felt drunk on adrenaline, saying things he shouldn’t have. Perhaps he would have kept his mouth shut if Adachi would have spoke to him during the day, when he wasn’t so tired, or if he wouldn’t have brought up Yu’s friends. It was impossible for Narukami to say exactly why he was doing it, but something had snapped inside of him. Enough was enough. He couldn’t live with the guilt and the fear anymore.

“It does add up, but… Adachi? He seems too…” Naoto began, trailing off.

“I know. He’s acting. I think he used to be an officer in Tokyo, he mentioned a mistake that got him re-assigned to Inaba. I need to know what that mistake was. It might be enough to convince Dojima to-”

“Slow down. How do you know he’s the culprit? How long have you known?” Naoto asked.

She was connecting the dots. Yu had picked someone too smart for him. He wouldn’t be able to keep the truth from her for long, but against his better judgement, he wanted to put off his confession for as long as possible.

“I don’t have any proof, which is why I need your help. You have connections here, right?”

Naoto remained silent, but he could practically hear the small smile on her face. She had a new mystery to solve. They were back in it, together, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Alright, but promise once you have what you need, you’ll come back to Inaba to see us. They miss you. We miss you.”

They said their goodbyes, and hung up. The mystery was back on, and as Yu Narukami settled back into bed, he couldn’t help but feel excited. No matter how dangerous it was, he was back in his element. He had missed it, all the sneaking around, the phone calls to his friends, trading and collecting information.

As he drifted off to sleep, he thought that perhaps that’s why he was doing this: he needed it.


	3. Miyu Mizushima

“DIGGING UP DIRT. DIFFICULTY WITH FRIENDS ON THE FORCE. LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS”

“SAW HIM TODAY. DIDN’T SEEM TO PAY ANY ATTENTION TO US.”

“MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING. INTERNAL AFFAIR REPORTS JUST BEFORE HE CAME TO INABA. MIGHT BE WORTH FOLLOWING UP ON.”

“MIYU MIZUSHIMA. NO ADDRESS. MIGHT BE ON YOUR OWN ON THIS ONE.”

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT, SENPAI? PLEASE RESPOND. SAW HIM AGAIN TODAY. WORRIED HE MIGHT KNOW.”

“SENPAI, PLEASE RESPOND.”

“I’M WORRIED ABOUT YOU.”

Yu Narukami wandered from dark row to dark row. The rest of the Koishikawa Library was occupied and fairly well lit, but the area where the kept old back issues of local newspapers had fallen into disrepair. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust. It was the kind of place he was comfortable in, a forgotten area of a public building. He had finally stopped expecting to see Adachi around every corner, in every dark nook or cranny. His fears were gradually fading, thanks to his focus on the case ahead of him.

It reminded him of when he and Naoto used to solve cases, for fun. On the day he left, he threw away that light up badge. He didn’t deserve it. Another memory and personal connection discarded, adding to the sting of regret, and shame.

When he placed the stack of newspapers down, Yu had to wave away the thick cloud of dust. There was too much here for a single person, he thought, but he didn’t have a choice. There was no investigation team. Just his own actions that he had to atone for, with a bit of help from someone he cared too much about, to tell the truth to.

Every newspaper for months before Adachi came to Inaba. There were over a hundred here, old print issues with Tokyo-centric headlines all over them. Overwhelming, perhaps, but Yu remained calm, and vigilant. He was used to long nights like this, doing dull work. It would at least be more exciting than folding envelopes.

Miyu Mizushima. Yu was an hour into running through newspapers before he picked out the kanji spelling her name. Evidently, she had to be rushed to the hospital after…

Narukami’s stomach churned as he read the words; sexual assault. She had been attacked. This was worse than he could have imagined. He wasn’t sure what he had expected, a woman who knew too much, or even one who had simply been beaten by Tohru Adachi, but not like this. She was as much a victim as Saki Konishi, or Mayumi Yamano. The only silver lining was that this victim was still alive, and could talk. She could make a difference.

Had they been attacked, as well? The possibilities played out in Yu’s mind. The horror was overwhelming. The man he had invited into his home, cooked dinner for, introduced to Nanako, his little sister, this man was a rapist. He was a predator, and a murderer.

Yu picked up his phone and dialed Naoto’s number. His heart was racing. He needed to report his progress, and more importantly, he needed to hear her voice. He had to calm down.

No answer. It went almost immediately to voicemail. Yu hung up, and tried again. This time it rang three times, before another cut to voicemail. Was she busy? Already on the phone? He moved his leg nervously, deciding to head over to the public use computers. In truth, he didn’t have much to say to her that would help them. What was there to report? Tohru Adachi was not only a spree killer, but a possible serial rapist as well? There was no sense in scaring her. No sense in getting scared himself. An address would be helpful. An address was the next step to what they needed: a witness.

It took another half an hour of searching on the public computers to turn up an address. Something about this felt wrong; she didn’t deserve to have her past dredged up, especially by a complete stranger. Playing detective and tossing around theories was one thing, just working the cold hard facts, but approaching a victim of something so abhorrent was something else entirely.

He had to go now. Yu knew he was talking himself out of this. A couple of subway transfers and a long walk, and he’d be there. All the while, he did his best to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach. This had happened long before he knew Adachi, and yet, he felt guilt for it all the same. He had betrayed Miyu without even knowing her, by having faith in Adachi.

It wouldn’t happen again.

She lived in a small apartment building, in the back alleys of Shibuya. It faintly reminded Yu of the alleys and cozy streets of Inaba, but in Tokyo it was markedly out of place, run down and empty feeling. As he walked up the stairs and looked for the apartment number, he tried to think of what he was going to say, but his mind was blank; nothing felt tactful, or smart. How was he supposed to broach such a heavy topic with a still-living victim of the man he had absolved?

“Hello?”

Miyu Mizushima looked tired. She had probably looked tired for years now.

“I know what Tohru Adachi did. I want to catch him, but I need your help.”

Yu Narukami’s words hung heavy in the air. It was almost unbearable. He was stoic on the surface, confident even, but internally he was already accepting defeat. He’d never been good at being indirect.

Instead of turning him away, Miyu sighed, and beckoned Yu inside.

“... Come in. I’ll start some tea.”


End file.
